And this year, perhaps unprovoked by a strangely silent Angels rival (not just in outdoor advertising, but in the free agent market this off-season, I might add), the Dodgers got even more thrifty by asking fans to put themselves on (mock) Dodgers billboards. Why pay for celebrity endorsements at all (especially when the endorsements are so obscure that no one can recognize them), when you can just pimp your fans for free?

So here we are, past the midpoint in March, and there are no Dodgers billboards throughout the city. There are no Angels billboards, either. Maybe this signals a missed opportunity. Maybe "Mars Needs Moms" needed that extra billboard space to eke its way to the worst animated opening ever. More likely, the Dodgers don't have the money to spend on outdoor advertising this year, given the precarious financial condition of the organization.

And that's a pity, because it makes it just a little bit harder to get psyched for this year's offense-challenged, injury-ridden, unproven-manager squad without seeing visible reminders why we should be excited for the coming Dodgers season. Especially off a year when the economy is a tad bit better, coming off a decline in attendance; isn't this the time one would want to invest in outdoor advertising?

If this isn't the Dodgers' town, then whose is it? Anyone?

The only upside is, this gives extra capacity for additional Suckerpunch billboards. I'll take it, for now.